Dehumidifier structure



March 17, 1970 c. E. SHOLTES DEHUMIDIFIER STRUCTURE Filed June 11, 1968 S R m N & E S V. WE H O C WITNESSES @224! a ATTORNEY United States Patent U.S. Cl. 62-150 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In dehumidifier structure having an upright mounting frame supporting a circular evaporator and a condenser on opposite sides of an aperture in the upper portion wall of the frame, an integral lower marginal flange of the upper portion wall projecting outwardly therefrom at an acute angle to form a condensate directing ledge below at least a portion of the evaporator, with the condensate bucket abutting the lower portion wall of the frame and with the upper edge of one of its side walls underlying the ledge so that condensate dripping from the evaporator will be directed by the ledge into the bucket.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The invention pertains generally to dehumidifier structure and means for mounting the various components of the dehumidifier.

Description of the prior art The prior art dehumidifier of applicants assignee of this invention includes an upright mounting frame having a main wall with an aperture therein to accommodate air flow therethrough, and with the evaporator on one side and the condenser on the other side of the main wall aperture. The main wall occupies a single vertical plane and to accommodate the collection of condensate dripping from the evaporator, a separate drip tray is provided to underlie the entirety of the evaporator. The condensate bucket is arranged to be supported from a bucket hanger carried by the mounting frame. The bucket shutoff switch is carried by the main wall behind a bucket shutoff switch cover pivotally carried by the main wall and disposed to be urged toward the bucket shutolf switch as the condensate bucket accumulates condensate.

I This prior art dehumidifier structure is considered to be more expensive than is necessary in that it requires a number of parts which in my present inventive arrangement may be omitted. Accordingly, it is the object of my invention to provide an arrangement which is less costly but entirely adequate for its intended purpose.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with my invention, the improvement within the context of the noted dehumidifier environment comprises the provision of an upper portion wall of the mounting frame which includes an integral (i.e., monolithic) lower marginal flange projecting out from the plane of the upper portion to form a condensate-directing ledge underlying at least the center portion of the evaporator in a sideways direction, and under lying at least the portion of the evaporator adjacent the plane of said upper portion wall as viewed in the direction of air flow through the evaporator, with at least the outer marginal edge of the ledge projecting beyond the plane of the lower portion wall of the mounting frame, and means for pivotally mounting the condensate bucket on the frame with the upper edge of a side wall underlying the ledge lip so that the condensate dropping onto the 3,500,654 Patented Mar. 17, 1970 ledge will be directed into the bucket. My invention further comprehends the lower wall portion carrying the condensate bucket switch with its actuating plunger projecting toward the bucket wall, and providing on the lower portion wall a spring which bears against the bucket side wall to oppose the movement of the bucket toward the plunger as the condensate is accumulated, and means for adjusting the force with which the spring resists the movement of the bucket toward the lower portion wall. In its preferred form the spring comprises a leaf spring of generally sinuous configuration with the adjusting means comprising a threaded member adapted to be turned in against a center corrugation of the sinuous spring to effect movement of the ends of the spring away from the lower portion wall.

DRAWING DESCRIPTION responding to one taken along the line 11-11 of FIG. 1,

but illustrating the parts of FIG. 1 in their final assembled relationship;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view similar to that of FIG. 2, but illustrating the arrangement as modified to accommodate a four-pass evaporator coil, rather than a two-pass evaporator coil of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The dehumidifier of FIG. 1 is shown with its U-shaped outer casing and its front grille removed. The main structural components shown in FIG. 1 include the panshaped base 10, which supports the compressor 12, and an upright mounting frame generally designated 14. The frame is of generally channel-shape in transverse section, open toward the rear, and includes a lower wall portion 16 and an upper wall portion 18 forming the web of the channel and a pair of opposite wings 20 and 22 forming the legs of the channel. In the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 1, the evaporator 24 comprises a two-pass coil for moderate dehumidifying capacity and the mounting frame channel 14 is formed of a single piece of steel. The evaporator 24 is mounted against one face of the upper portion wall 18 and secured thereto by means not shown, While the condenser of the refrigerant system is secured against the opposite face of the upper wall portion 18. A circular aperture 28 (FIG. 2) of approximately the size of the evaporator 24 is provided in the upper portion wall 18. When the dehumidifier is operated the motorized fan 30 supported adjacent the front face of the condenser 26 draws air through the evaporator 24 and condenser 26 and discharges it through the grille at the opposite end of the dehumidifier.

For the purpose of deflecting condensate dripping from the evaporator 24 into a condensate bucket 32, the portion of the upper wall 18 immediately below the evaporator 24 is struck or bent out from the plane of the upper portion wall 18 to project away therefrom at an acute angle to form the condensate directing ledge 34. This ledge underlies at least the center portion of the evaporator as viewed in a sideways direction, and also underlies at least that pass of the evaporator coil lying next to the upper portion wall 18. It will be appreciated that because of the circular form of the evaporator coils the condensate will tend to run down along the coils to the lowermost portion before dropping olf. Accordingly, it is not mandatory that the ledge 34 extend sideways to underlie the furthermost side portions of the coil where there is the least chance of condensate dropping off.

The condensate bucket 32 is of molded plastic and includes one side wall 36 which is relatively flat for most of its extent, and has an upper edge 36 which is straight so that with the bucket mounted in place to receive condensate, the edge 38 underlies the outwardly-projecting ledge 34.

To mount the bucket to the frame 14, bucket support knobs 40 are mounted on the inner faces of opposite wings 20 and 22 to provide pivotal bearings for the opposite-disposed notches 42 molded in the opposite sides of the bucket 32. Thus it will be appreciated that the bucket 32 is pivotally supported off center on the knobs 40 and that as the condensate accumulates in the bucket, the bucket will tend to turn about the pivot points 42 and exert an increasing moment of force toward the lower wall portion 16. This increasing moment is used to detect when the dehumidifier should be stopped because of the volume of condensate in the bucket.

To this end, the lower wall 16 carries a condensate control switch or bucket switch 44 which includes a plunger biased outwardly to project toward the wall 36 of the bucket facing the wall 16. To oppose the increasing moment arising from a bucket being filled, the lower wall portion 16 also carries a spring 46 of sinuous configuration and arranged to be adjusted by turning a threaded member such as a screw 48 through the center corrugation of the spring and into a nut 50. By tightening the screw 48 so that center part of the spring is pulled more tightly against the wall 16, the outer ends of the spring will be forced away from the wall 16 to exert a greater resisting force against the wall 36 of the bucket. Accordingly, the spring adjustment is made to correspond with the amount of water the user desires be accumulated before the dehumidifier is stopped. When that amount has accumulated, the spring ends will have gradually yielded to permit the switch plunger to be pushed by the bucket wall to open the switch 44 and deenergize the dehumidifier, the switch being in series in a control circuit.

In the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 3, which is a modification of the FIGS. 1 and 2 arrangement dictated by the provision of a four-pass evaporator coil 52, the upper and lower wall portions 54 and 56 of the mounting frame comprise separate pieces rather than a single piece. In either case, the wing portions of the mounting frame are integral with the main wall portions, the upper wing 58 having a lower edge 60 as seen in FIG. 3 at a height corresponding to the height the lower edge of the deflector 62 would occupy if it had not been bent out of the plane of the upper wall portion 54. The lower wing is designated 64.

It will be appreciated that the ledge deflector 62 again comprises an integral (i.e., monolithic) lower marginal flange of the upper wall portion 54. Also, the extreme edge of the ledge 62 projects out sufliciently that the upper edge of wall 36 of the bucket 32 can underlie the ledge edge so that the condensate is directed over the ledge into the bucket 32. In other respects, the arrangement is substantially the same as that illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

With the arrangement of my invention, a substantial number of parts utilized in the prior art dehumidifier structure are eliminated so that cost is reduced both through the elimination of parts, and through assembly labor cost.

I claim:

1. In a dehumidifier of the character including an upright mounting frame supporting a circular evaporator and a condenser on opposite sides of an aperture in an upper portion of same frame, and including a condensate bucket disposed on the evaporator side of a lower portion wall of same frame, the improvement comprising:

said upper portion wall includes a monolithic lower marginal flange projecting away from the plane of said upper portion wall to form a condensate-directing ledge underlying at least the center portion of said evaporator as viewed in a sideways direction, and underlying at least the portion of said evaporator adjacent the plane of said upper portion wall as viewed in the direction of air flow through said evaporator, at least the outer marginal edge of said flange projecting beyond the plane of said lower portion wall to form a lip; and

means for mounting said bucket on said frame with an upper edge of a wall of the bucket underlying said lip of said ledge so that the condensate dropping onto said flange will be directed thereby into said bucket.

2. In a dehumidifier according to claim 1:

said lower portion wall carries a condensate accumulation control switch having an actuator plunger projecting toward said bucket wall,

said lower portion Wall carries a spring bearing directly against said bucket side wall to oppose movement of said bucket toward said plunger as condensate accumulates, and

means for adjusting said spring.

3. In a dehumidifier according to claim 2:

said spring comprises a leaf spring of generally sinuous configuration,

said adjusting means comprises a threaded member adapted to be turned in against a center corrugation of said sinuous spring to effect movement of the ends of said spring away from said lower portion wall.

4. In a dehumidifier according to claim 1:

said upper and lower wall portions comprises a monolithic one-piece Wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,956,417 10/1960 Lyman 62l50 3,044,272 7/1962 Sisendroth 62--l88 WILLIAM J. WYE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

